Understanding Breedplan

The following article was written by Ross Thompson in 2006, but a lot of the messages are still relevant today

Introduction

A young bull on the market in Australia is incapable of carrying high
accuracy EBV’s (Estimated Breeding Values). The Breedplan system
does not contain sufficient descendant performance information on young
animals to produce high accuracy estimates for their breeding potential.
So the EBV’s of every animal will change, often significantly,
after purchase. However there are means of minimizing the potential changes
for young sires. Herds that have been Breedplan recording for a long
time with large contemporary groups will have enhanced EBV reliability
in young animals. Furthermore, EBV data will be more dependable from
herds where all eligible traits are routinely submitted for analysis,
across the whole contemporary group (ie where culling is delayed until
after scanning).

The standard Breedplan explanations presented in many sale catalogues
provide little guide about the application of EBV’s to real life
situations. Breedplan is an excellent aid to breeding cattle, but it
is complex and often poorly understood.

EBV’s are no more than the best estimate of an animal’s
genetic potential available at that point in time. Certainly they are
better than having no guide at all, but there will never be any substitute
for what the eye can see.

Index

Copyright Notice

(This article is the property of Millah Murrah Angus and may not be reproduced without express permission of the writer. Views expressed herein are the writer’s opinion only and no liability is assumed for action taken by others based on this article.)